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UNSC Aeneas
UNSC Carrier Aeneas (CVF-306) The Aeneas was involved in the Battle of Ares IV, and the earlier Battle of Minorca II. After a succession of exemplary commanding officers, Captain Jonathan Stanley is the newest, already commanding it through two campaigns within eighteen months. Early History Though the Aeneas is technically classified as a Carrier, it started life as one of many Herald-class colony ships used to transport colonists to newly terraformed colonies. Built in 2411 at the Reyes-McLees Naval Shipyards, it is significantly older than most ships still in service in the UNSC Fleet. Over the years, however, the Aeneas has recieved numerous upgrades and enhancements to allow it to keep up to date with current technological breakthroughs. Under its first commanding officer, Commander Jeromy O'Reilly, the Aeneas assisted in the colonisation of Ares IV, transporting terraforming gear and colonists to the planet, making seventeen trips from Ares IV to Earth to facilitate the transfer of the population. Fitted with only rudimentary defensive measures to protect itself from pirates, it managed to fend off seven attempts to take over the ship by early Insurrectionists, and was eventually fitted with numerous 50mm point-defence guns. After the colonisation of Ares IV was accomplished, witht he final transfer of colonists made in 2460, the Aeneas was scheduled to be decommissioned to provide resources for the planets new inhabitants. Rebel activity among the Outer Colonies, however, gave the Aeneas a significantly longer serive than intended. Undergoing a major refit, including the fitting of Archer missile pods and a single MAC, the Aeneas was repurposed as a troop carrier for the Navy, able to carry a fully equipped regiment to theatres of combat. It saw action in several theatres, deploying dropships and launching ODST teams from orbit, escorted by smaller Frigates and Destroyers. Commander O'Reilly recieved numerous commendations for bravery, recieving promotion to Captain then to Admiral within a short space of time, transferring to the Marathon-class Cruiser Galadriel in 2469. The Aeneas's next CO, Commander Natalie Stutt, is regarded as the finest combat officer to have served aboard the ship, and its longest-serving. Under her command, the Aeneas took part in dozens of anti-insurgency operations against the United Rebel Front, transfering thousands of troops and their equipment. During the Battle of Far Isle, the Aeneas fended off attacks from four rebel-operated Frigates, still managing to deliver its troop complement and destroying the enemy ships, though with heavy loss of life and severe damage. Commander Stutt was transferred in 2505 to the destroyer Sentinel, serving for another twenty years before her death at the hands of the Covenant in the Battle of Harvest. The Aeneas was turned over to the command of Commander Samuel Pike, taking part in two battles before being scheduled for decommission. Under Pike, the Aeneas took part in the Battle of Madrigal, jumping early from an engagement with the Covenant, believing the battle to be unwinnable. Upon returning to UNSC space, he learned that the battle had, in fact, been won by UNSC reinforcements, and was charged with cowardice and dishonourably discharged. for the next twenty years, the Aeneas was confined in storage, with several Halcyon-class Cruisers, scheduled to be decommissioned. Loss after loss against the Covenant fleet, howevr, once again saw the Aeneas return to active duty in 2550, along with the cruisers it had been stored with. Recieving numerous upgrades, including extra Archer missile pods, fitting a second MAC and upgrading each to fire two shots before overcharging, and attaching fifty 50mm point-defence guns, as well as an experimental fusion reactor design, the Aeneas was intended to be redeployed under the command of Captain Keyes in his mission. When Cortana instead chose the Halcyon-class cruiser Pillar of Autumn, the ship was given to Captain Jonathan Stanley, and deployed to the Delta Secundus Combat Theatre in 2550, and then the Minorca II Combat Theatre in 2551. Upon returning to Earth in September, 2552, it was incorporated into the Home Fleet and tasked with coordinating a group of seventeen frigates to defend the Meditteranean Battle-Cluster during the opening hours of the Battle of Earth. Assisting Spartan-117 to damage a Covenant Assault Carrier, the Bringer of Holy Light, the Aeneas was caught in its slipspace wake as it made an emergency random jump. Its current whereabouts are unknown. Notable Commanders *Commander Jeromy O'Reilly(2411 - 2460) *Commander Natalie Stutt (2469 - 2525) *Commander Samuel Pike (2525) *Captain Jonathan Stanley (2550 - 2552) Quotes * "I served on the Aeneas during its 2525 tour of duty in Epsilon Indi. It was a bucket of bolts then. How the hell does it stay together now?" * "People gripe and moan about how Carriers are poorly armed for their sizes. They're supposed to be! That's why we still keep frigates and destroyers!" * "There's the cryo-chambers, and the MAC at the bow...after that, everything else is substandard. I'm surprised they even recommissioned her in the first place - the Herald-Class ships were dropped in the first place because it was more economical to simply build new ships, rather than keep them properly maintained." * "If you'd seen her at Minorca, you wouldn't have believed your eyes - dropping troops and supplies even in the midst of a plasma bombardment, swatting Seraphs and boarding craft like flies, and dodging enemy fire like a ballerina. I don't know how much of that was the captain, and how much was the ship, but all I can say is that if we had more ships like this, the UNSC would still have Reach, and a dozen more colony worlds."